Alan Bowen News

Former sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy who had served in HMCS Algonquin gathered at Davie Shipbuilding today to commemorate the paying off of this storied Canadian warship. HMCS Algonquin is one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s four Tribal-Class Destroyers built at Davie in the early 1970s and then refitted at Davie in the 1990s during the Tribal Class Update and Modernization Project (TRUMP). Ronald Bardier, Director of Production at Davie, who was also a general foreman during the TRUMP…

Davie has been awarded a contract from the government of Canada for the Vessel Life Extension (VLE) of Canadian Coast Guard Ship CCGS Earl Grey, the shipyard announced today. CCGS Earl Grey is a Medium Endurance Multi-Tasked Vessel used by the Canadian Coast Guard to perform a variety of roles including icebreaking, primarily offshore Prince Edward Island. The vessel’s nine-month life extension program will take place in Davie’s secondary drydock, the Lorne dock. The program primarily consists of replacements and upgrades to engines, machinery, equipment and electrical systems.

Canadian shipbuilder Davie held a keel laying ceremony for MV Armand-Imbeau II, marking the beginning of the hull assembly for this first of two sisterships under construction at Davie for the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ). The two ferries for the Tadoussac‒Baie-Sainte-Catherine route are to built at a total cost of $125 million for year-round navigation on the Saguenay Fjord. The first ferry, MV Armand-Imbeau II, is scheduled to be delivered in Fall 2015, followed by the second, MV Jos-Deschênes II, four months later.

Canada’s largest shipbuilder Davie announced a series of accomplishments, achieved over the past several weeks. Firstly, the second in the build series of 130-meter Subsea Construction Vessels, Cecon Excellence (Hull 718) was floated for the first time over the holiday season. At the same time, the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS Des Groseilliers, presently undergoing a major upgrade and refit, was floated up from the dry dock with its new engines installed. Both ships will continue to be worked on alongside. Steven Blaney, M.P.

Chantier Davie Canada Inc. announced the signing of two new contracts, one with CSL Group and the other with the Canadian Coast Guard. Davie’s contract with CSL Group will see CSL Group’s MV Baie St. Paul arrive in the shipyard in January for a period of six weeks to perform repair and maintenance activities. The Canadian Coast Guard awarded Davies the contract for the vessel CCGS Des Groseilliers, carried out with the cooperation of Babcock Canada Inc. and involving the completion of Phase 1 of the life extension of this Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.

Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and Aecon Atlantic Inc. announced the signing of a cooperative agreement to work on marine-related projects. Skills and knowledge sharing on joint programs. Alan Bowen, CEO of Davie, commented on the new partnership: “On our existing newbuild programs at Davie, we have built entire ship sections at six third-party facilities for assembly at Davie. This modern production methodology, which ensures a faster and therefore more cost-effective program delivery, is what allows us to compete internationally in the ship export market. Aecon Atlantic Pictou Shipyard facility is well-placed to provide support on our current and future newbuilding and repair programs.

Chantier Davie Canada contracted to build two dual-fuel Ro-Pax ferries for La Société des traversiers du Québec. The two dual-fuel LNG Ro-Pax ferries will operate on the St. Lawrence River on the Tadoussac-Baie-Sainte-Catherine route and are due to enter service in 2015. At 92 m long, each vessel will have over 625 lane meters across two decks, allowing the transport of over 115 vehicles and 10 heavy goods vehicles. Alan Bowen, CEO of Davie commented “This project has been a long time in the planning and we are very excited to now begin construction. The dual-fuel LNG engines are a perfect fit with Davie’s specialization in advanced propulsion and vessel maneu- vering systems.